The present invention relates to camping stoves and in particular to flame-free, catalytic stoves.
The conventional camping stove of the type designed to fit in a backpack or the like consists of a burner unit adapted to screw or clamp onto a can containing a supply of fuel such as propane or butane. While such stoves meet the prime objectives of being light-weight and hence easily portable, they suffer from the serious drawback of relying on an open flame to product heat. The flame poses a fire hazard particularly when used in a dry location. In addition, the flame is subject to being extinguished, or the heat therefrom to being dispersed during windy or rain conditions. A furthr problem with such stoves is that they permit only a limited degree of throttling and hence, must burn at substantially the same rate in all conditions.
In view of the above, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved camping stove which is less sensitive to weather conditions than conventional, flame type stoves.
A further object is to provide such a stove which may more readily be throttled as required to increase or decrease the rate of combustion.
Still further objects are to provide a camping stove which is more fuel efficient than conventional stoves and which yields less objectionable emissions than conventional stoves.